School authorities are peeved with a directive from the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education to its affiliated schools in north Bengal, Burdwan and Midnapore regions to complete the registration process of Class XI students by working from 12 midnight.

The directive issued on Wednesday scheduled separate time slots for each of its regions apparently to bypass a technical snag in the software of its newly developed portal.The council has asked schools in the Calcutta region to access the portal from 3pm to 12midnight, whereas it has told schools in north Bengal, Burdwan and Midnapore regions to complete the process between 12 midnight and 3pm.

Most headmasters and headmistresses of schools in these regions have expressed their “shock” and “surprise” at the “unprecedented’ order” that carries the signature of council president Chiranjib Bhattacharjee.On August 24, the council had issued a notification directing schools across the state to begin online registration for students of Class XI for the 2022-23 academic session.

The deadline to finish the job is September 29. But the process has been hampered across the state because of a technical snag in the council’s new portal. The teachers also said the application was not user-friendly and it took them at least 30 minutes to complete the process for each student.

“From Day One, the registration process has been plagued by technical problems and server errors. Schools in rural areas, where Internet connectivity is poor and power supply is irregular ahead of Durga Puja because of maintenance works, have been suffering the most. As a result, completing registration within the stipulated date has become nearly impossible,” said a headmaster of a Barasat-based school.

“Most schools have admitted around 200-300 students each to Class XI. If submission of each case takes at least 30 minutes, the council should consider extending the deadline. But instead, it has asked us to work past midnight,” said Chandan Maiti, secretary of Advanced Society for Headmasters and Headmistresses.

Council president was not available for comment. However, a senior council official said the deadline might be extended till October 17 and a fresh notification would be issued shortly. He further said: “Nothing has been imposed on schools, so the question of withdrawing of imposing the order didn’t arise at all. It was just an advisory to work till late night to avoid clogging the portal. However, efforts were on to rectify the snag.”